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TRANSFORMING POWER RELATIONS: Equal status of women and men at the family level in the Pacific

Attitudes about the superiority of men and inferiority of women at the household and family level are still very common in the Pacific. Rather than being equal partners, men are still widely considered the ‘head of the household’ with superior status and decision-making authority and often greater rights and freedoms. While increasing numbers of people are replacing these notions of family hierarchies with notions of equality, there is still a long way to go. The implications of family and household hierarchies and stereotyped roles for men and women are many, including poor health outcomes for women, diminished access of women to economic and political participation, and violence against women. Women’s empowerment at the household and family level is critical to their full participation in and contribution to all other spheres of society. Equalising power relations at this most basic unit of society will benefit everyone, from families and communities to entire nations.